Amos, one the early Hebrew prophets, told the ten tribes in the Northern Kingdom that God would one day judge them by removing them from their homeland. The time will surely come when you will be taken away with hooks . . . You will each go straight out through breaches in the wall. That’s exactly what happened when in 730 BC the Assryians invaded the Northern Kingdom and carted most of the people away. They came to be called “the lost tribes of Israel” because most never returned home.
God’s judgment was decisive and severe and it’s instructive to see what prompted it. The people had a veneer of spirituality. They were religious, offering sacrifices every morning, paying their tithes, even bragging about their freewill offerings. But they forgot the poor and took advantage of the powerless.
They sell the innocent for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed (Amos 2: 6-7). And then this: the women . . . oppress the poor and crush the needy and [then] say to [their] husbands, “Bring us some drinks!” What a picture.
From Amos to Jesus and everywhere in between, we hear the same message: God cares what happens to poor and oppressed people. The message is repeated over and over and over because God is so passionate about this. And because we are so slow to see this, to embrace it, to act on it.
- paul abbott
This verse 9 “Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards,
ReplyDeletedestroying them with blight and mildew.
Locusts devoured your fig and olive trees,
yet you have not returned to me,” is very confusing. Can someone explain this verse?
Daud, not sure what you're asking. Can you be more specific?
ReplyDeleteWe can take from this chapter, God gives us many warnings and chances in life. It is up to us to see what is right in front of us. Eventually; even a patient God, has to wake us up by a traumatic event or situation. God just wants us to listen to what he is showing/telling us to do.
ReplyDeleteGod cares about us, he also cares about how we treat others too. Everyone can take time to show compassion and care to those in need. Maybe, one day, you will be the one "in need".
John Baker said....
ReplyDeleteDaud, The way I understand this is that God sometimes tries to get our attention by refocusing from trusting in things that are important to us...here gardens and vineyards to the giver of food and drink. Similarly, verse 6 "I gave you empty stomachs in every city and lack of bread in every town, yet you have not returned to me," declares the Lord. Frustration is evident when we are slow to "get it." ...or as Paul says so slow to see, embrace, and act of it.
I see it as part of the examples of what God did to get the Israelite's attention. Even though God warned the people, they ignored His signs. They will now have to meet God (vs. 12) to account for rejecting His command to care for the poor. My take away is....We will also meet God someday and have to account for what we did (or didn't) do.
ReplyDeleteIt means that God may give us a hard time or trial in order for us to return to him. I guess I was under the impression that God never gives us a hard time. That's what my confusion with verse 9.
ReplyDelete12PREPARE TO MEET YOUR GOD IN JUDGMENT, OH ISRAEL!
ReplyDelete13 For the Lord is the one who shaped the mountains,
stirs up the winds, and reveals his thoughts to mankind.
He turns the light of dawn into darkness
and treads on the heights of the earth.
The Lord God of Heaven’s Armies is his name!
My brother died in an accident at age 18. Above his bed were the words "Prepare to meet your God, oh Israel". A simple frame, an old soul, a short time on earth. He was one of those "Justin Maxim" kind of kid... fired up in his faith. He took God's warning and stayed away from the ways of the world. It is sweet to remember him that way today...